Former Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Thursday called on the international community to devise creative and innovative solutions in financing, technology transfer and development cooperation to step up the fight against climate change.

The new chair of the Council of the Global Green Growth Institute stressed the need for more action to achieve sustainable growth in the face of mounting “man-made” challenges such as resource scarcity, population growth, loss of biodiversity and deforestation.

“We must act in response to these challenges because they will be our legacy,” Yudhoyono said in his opening remarks at an international conference on environmentally friendly economic development hosted by the Seoul-based organization in Incheon.

“As these challenges are man-made, their solutions will also be man-made. The solutions will be made by the choices people make ― policymakers, investors, business leaders and consumers.”

Yudhoyono, 65, was officially elected as chair at a council meeting a day earlier with the consensus of 22 member countries, succeeding former Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen. He led the Southeast Asian country from 2004-14 and currently also teaches national defense at Indonesian Defense University. 

Based on the theme “The Nexus between the Creative Economy and Green Growth,” the one-day event brought together some 200 policymakers, scholars, leading businesspeople and analysts to swap ideas chiefly on three pillars of sustainable growth: technological innovation, finance and social inclusion. Among other participants were Yoon Seong-kyu, the environment minister; Yvo de Boer, director-general of the GGGI; Mary Robinson, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s special envoy on climate change; and Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok.

Earlier in the day, Yudhoyono met with President Park Geun-hye at Cheong Wa Dae and was conferred the Grand Order of Mugunghwa, a top medal named after national flower, the Rose of Sharon, for his contribution to the two countries’ relations.

Park requested Yudhoyono’s efforts to nurture the fledgling organization into a “competitive international body,” promising support and cooperation, according to the presidential office. She met with him on a state visit in Jakarta in October 2013.

Yudhoyono, for his part, praised Park’s drive for a “creative” economy, saying it offers “inspiration” that economic growth and environmental protection can be pursued in parallel.

The initiative is a centerpiece of her economic policy and calls for creating fresh business opportunities, industries and jobs through a concoction of information and technology, culture and other sectors.

“I believe that an important part of creating a greener future will be to recognize and harness our own creativity and innovation,” he said at the conference.

“Countries need creative solutions ― in financing, technology development and transfer, and development cooperation as well as sharing knowledge and experience ― for green growth to be effective on the ground.”

The GGGI was launched in 2010 by the Korean government to bridge rich and poor countries by funding and sharing technological know-how for environmentally friendly development. Its status was upgraded to an international entity two years ago.

With an annual budget of $47 million, it is currently carrying out programs in some 20 developing nations including Ethiopia, Cambodia and Indonesia, designed to help them craft more eco-friendly development strategies and ways to curb carbon emissions.

By Shin Hyon-hee (heeshin@heraldcorp.com)